Special Teams Player Could Eventually Become a Colts Legend

Spencer Shrader was born in Westfield, Indiana, a northern suburb of Indianapolis. Yet, he attended Newsome High School in Lithia, Florida.

Shrader later played college football at South Florida and Notre Dame. During his career, he made 156 of his 158 extra-point attempts and 43 of his 63 field-goal attempts.

Shrader then went undrafted in 2024. He later signed with the Colts as a free agent. He was waived and re-signed to Indy’s practice squad.

Shrader was elevated to the team’s active roster for last season’s Week 1 game against the Houston Texans. He made all three extra-point attempts in the losing effort in that contest.

Shrader was eventually released. He went on to have stints with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. He finished his rookie year, making all nine extra point attempts and all five field goal attempts.

The Colts brought Shrader back this past offseason. He replaced kicker Matt Gay, who was released and is now with the Washington Commanders.

The Colts Believe in Him

Colts head coach Shane Steichen has a ton of faith in Shrader. Lee Vowell of Horseshoe Heroes wrote about that:

“Though Shrader nailed a 45-yard field goal to win the game in the final seconds against the Broncos, he missed a previous attempt from 60 yards. The kicker should never have been put in the position to have to make a field goal of that length. Steichen made obvious decisions to put Sharder in the situation. On three straight plays from near the Denver 40-yard line, Steichen called run plays straight up the middle that appeared designed to do nothing but take time off the clock. Steichen clearly thought Shrader could make a 60-yard kick. But what was clear is that the Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen made his belief in Spencer Shrader crystal clear. The coach thinks the kicker can win games with long field goals.”

Shrader is off to a good start. He’s leading the NFL in made field goals with 11. It’s way too early to label him a Colts all-time great. Again, he has only appeared in four games with the franchise.

However, the talent and potential are there. Plus, the coaching staff obviously believes in him. If Shrader sticks around Indy for a while and can make a lot more big-time kicks, he just might be mentioned with great Colts kickers like Adam Vinatieri and Mike Vanderjagt at some point.